


Kid Tony

by Neverever



Series: 2016 Cap-IM Tiny Reverse Bang ficlets [9]
Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Babysitting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 16:22:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9333212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neverever/pseuds/Neverever
Summary: Tony doesn't know why they call Mister Steve Captain America but otherwise he really likes hanging out with his babysitters. He could do this forever.





	

**Author's Note:**

> What if Tony didn't revert back to adult Tony immediately after the events of the Age of Tony Stark?
> 
> Written for the seventh round of the 2016 Cap/Iron Man Tiny Reverse Big Bang.
> 
> Art is by [nim-lock](http://nim-lock.tumblr.com/) and is titled: [Long Day](http://capim-tinybang.tumblr.com/post/148194260462/title-long-day-artist-nim-lock-link-to-tumblr-x).

Roller skates were serious business.

Tony liked the skates better than a skateboard because it was like the wheels were really part of his feet. And he could fly on them. Like he was really flying through the air. The skateboard, that was just a wood board with wheels he had to stand on. He loved flying.

He sort of remembered that he could fly once. If he wore the armor he dreamed about. There was a lot he didn’t quite remember. All he knew was that he had a stone stuck in his arc reactor and everything before the stone was fuzzy. He didn't think about it much.

Anyway, he was roller skating around the kitchen while Mister Clint talked at Steve who was making him sandwiches. “How long is this supposed to go on? I thought that once we put Skull back in his cage and the time fluctuations ended, somehow all this would get fixed.” Mister Clint waved in Tony’s general direction.

Tony knew when adults were talking about him. They got all quiet and serious-like and called him Anthony.

His name was Tony, thank you very much. Not Anthony Edward Stark, like his mom or dad called him when he got into trouble. Or that mean nanny once.

Mister Clint wasn’t mean or anything. He was nice to Tony, letting him shoot his arrows or play pool with him. Mister Clint even showed him how to shoot spitballs at Sam and Miss Natasha when they weren’t looking. Except Tony would giggle and give the game away.

“Did Thor have any news?” Steve asked. He cut the crusts off Tony’s peanut butter and jelly sandwich and put a heaping pile of potato chips on the plate.

Clint shrugged. “He said something about infinity gems and time and Odin might know something. He took off for Asgard hours ago and Sam’s been holed up in Tony’s workshop trying to figure something out.”

Right. The workshop. Tony was not allowed in there even though the place was named for him. Sam, who wasn’t all that much older than Tony even if he was in high school, or should have been in high school if he didn't go to SHIELD academy, or whatever, told Tony that, no, he wasn't allowed to go in there yet. Tony didn’t think that was fair at all.

He skated around the kitchen island faster than he should have. And he skated right into Steve. Who was as solid as a rock. Tony rubbed his elbow.

Steve smiled at him. “Okay, sport?”

“Yeah,” Tony muttered. He followed Steve over to the table when Steve put down the plate and a glass of milk. He did and didn't like it when Steve called him ‘sport.’ At first, it was too much like his dad calling him ‘sport’ and ‘buddy.’ But it also was different when Steve called him that. It was like Steve actually liked him.

Steve made him breakfast and lunch and snuck him cookies after dinner when the others weren’t looking. He played video games with him and yesterday they made a pillow fort. He didn’t say anything when Tony decided to roller skate through the Tower all day. Steve was the greatest.

He had to be. He was Captain America, after all. Even though Tony was kind of confused on that point because he learned in school that Captain America died at the end of WWII. But Steve had the uniform and the shield and looked an awful lot like the guy in the photo in his dad’s study. (Tony only saw that photo when he was in Big Trouble and dad gave him a Big Talking To, like after he changed the operating system of the Mean Nanny’s laptop. Pfft, it wasn’t a big deal -- some guy at the company fixed the laptop in a hour and she still quit. Win win for Tony, even if he did get a lecture.)

“Natasha is going to SHIELD to try to dig up something on the Time Stone,” Clint said. “She wants my help, if you’re okay looking after Tony this afternoon.”

“Not a problem,” Steve replied. “Not at all.”

Tony smiled at Steve. Pillow fort, here we come. And that night, he sat next to Steve as they watched Transformers on the huge television in the living room, just like a real theater. With popcorn and everything.

“You know, he’s going to hate it when he turns back into an adult and realizes just how many times he’s watched this, um, movie,” Mister Clint complained.

Miss Natasha threw some popcorn at him. Tony wondered why Big Tony hated the Transformers so much. Mister Clint had mentioned that fact several times. It didn’t sound like Big Tony was all that much fun.

~~~~~

In the morning he missed his mom and dad and the nanny. Anna was nice to him and didn’t yell when he played around in his dad’s workshop. Dad spent a lot of time at work but Mom would play the piano for him and he ate cookies while she taught him to play cards.

No one would tell him where they were. Steve said that they were on a special trip and would be back soon. Tony believed him because he was Captain America, mostly, that is, because he hadn’t figured out how Steve could be Captain America if Captain America was dead. Unless Steve was a replacement, which made sense too.

Today, they went on a hike through Central Park. Steve called it an urban hiking adventure and they wore backpacks filled with lunch and snacks. And Steve cheered him up by telling him that he missed his mom too. So that wasn't too bad after all.

Tony was exhausted when they got back to the Tower that afternoon. So Steve lay down on the couch and Tony climbed up after him. He liked it when Steve put his arm around him and hugged him. Because even if Tony was the bravest seven year old in the world, he was still scared at times that he didn't know where his parents were and or when they were coming.

Steve just made everything better because Tony believed him when he promised that it would all turn all right and that Tony was a superhero even if he was just seven. Superheroes were brave.

“I like what we did today,” Tony murmured as he struggled to keep his eyes open. He didn't want to miss anything. There was always something exciting going on in the Tower.

“That’s good,” Steve said.

“Can we do that again tomorrow, and go to the zoo also? And the next day we can go to the Natural History Museum. And the next day we --”

“We can do something tomorrow. But after that I have to go back to work.”

Tony frowned. “That’s not fun.”

“Adults work for a living,” Steve said. “And we might have to send you to school in a couple of days.”

Tony made a face. He wanted to go to the zoo, not school. School was boring. He wanted to stay with Steve, if he couldn't be with his mom and dad and Anna. “I don’t want to go to school.”

Steve patted him on the back. “You have to do something. And Howard, your dad, wouldn’t be happy if we kept you out of school so we could play.”

“I liked making pillow forts.” Tony yawned. He was really too tired to stay awake much longer. “And roller skating, and ….” He fell asleep listening to Steve’s steady heartbeat.

~~~~~

“Well this is beyond awkward,” Tony announced as he woke up still on Steve, returned to full grown, adult size.

Steve laughed. “Could be worse.” He kissed Tony’s nose. “Good to have you back.”

“Aargh. Didn't I swear to never fall asleep on you again on the couch?”

“Well, an hour ago, you were 50 pounds lighter and a lot shorter.”

Tony swung his feet to the floor and sat up, rubbing his face. “Right. I just dreamed I was a kid for the past three days.”

Steve put a hand on Tony’s knee. “You were, Tony. The Time Stone de-aged you and everyone’s been working hard to fix it.”

Tony sat still as he figured out the past few days. “I guess I planned on staying seven, at least until you threatened me with school.”

Steve gave Tony a pat. “If that’s the worse thing I ever say to you ….”

“Yeah, okay. Let’s chalk that up under things to never discuss with your boyfriend -- that time he babysat you for three days when you were briefly a seven year old.”

Tony stood and stretched. He had things to do and places to go and tons of work to catch up on. Playtime was over. Now that he thought about it, school was just another term for work for kids. “Hmmm, I’ll have to talk to Thor about this.”

The Time Stone fell out of Tony’s shirt. “Tricky little thing, isn’t it?” He held up the stone before putting it back in his jeans pocket.

“So how did you like being seven again?” Steve asked.

Tony grinned. “Fine, until I remembered how hard it was to be a kid too. Hard to be alive at any age. But it was sure great having you around.” He bent to kiss the top of Steve’s head then checked his phone.

“Hey, did you really let me watch Transformers five times in the past three days? And I enjoyed it?”

Steve laughed at Tony’s scandalized tone. “Too late to fire me as a babysitter. Come on, genius, let’s get dinner.”

Tony grumbled all the way to the kitchen, under Steve’s fond gaze. Seven year old him had terrible taste in movies. But very, very good luck in friends.

 

 

badge by runningondreams


End file.
